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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (3152)	7/5/2003 11:28:52 AM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793717

It is known as "defunding the left." :>) Actually, the article is more about the pros and cons of private versus public approaches to medicare. It tries almost too hard to be balanced and in the course of it leaves the reader a bit befuddled. But one theme through it is that private plans are not competitive with the public approach, in terms of either benefits or cost control. Hard to imagine how that could be the case. But there it is, in terms of this argument.

To: LindyBill who wrote (3152)	7/5/2003 1:43:37 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793717

Congress should allow the American people to have access to the SAME benefits as they themselves have. Americans could pay the same rates as they do.....After all, it is the taxpayers of this country that provide the benefits to the Congress and all government workers. This would allow choice....Last time I checked several years ago, the Senators had 15 (fifteen) choices of plans from which to choose. I challenge all the folks here to call their US Senators and US Representatives and see how many medical plans they have to choose from, and what the rates they have to pay are. Then check what the medical/dental plans are and how much they are after these folks retire. The problem is that the plans that allow people to go outside their network to see a doctor or get treated in a different hospital have grown in popularity as a way for businesses to shift more of the costs of care onto the consumer. "The private plans gives one an easy tool to use to contain costs in the future: the ability to create a defined contribution system," where the government is only obliged to pay a certain amount towards care, said Marilyn Moon, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who served as a trustee for the Medicare and Social Security trust funds. "I think that's a quiet way for Congress to allow it to happen without being explicit that it is sticking it to the beneficiary," she said. But Ms. Ignagni of the health plans' association says the organizations can make use of the same tools that traditional plans can to coordinate care and provide better benefits. "Congress should be agnostic about the type of product offered," she said. nytimes.com.